August 21, 2019

DRC Ebola: When cases flee

While Beni remains the epicenter of Ebola, patients who may be infected with the Ebola virus escape from integrated health facilities (triage centers) when they think they will be transferred to the Transit Center. More than 5 cases have been reported in health facilities in Beni. A situation deplored by caregivers.

"Today, the sick are fleeing us to the sorting point. If, for example, he has been suspected of being sick with the Ebola virus, he would not want to be told about a medical laboratory," commented the nurse who holds the Kasanga Health Center, Reverend Sister Charlotte Nziavake.

She laments the ignorance of some patients who consider Ebola Treatment Centers to be a place to sleep. She adds that the cure of a patient depends on the state in which he has presented to the hospital: the faster the patient with the Ebola virus is treated, the greater the chances of recovery.

"It is ignorance that dominates them because they start practicing self-medication at home, and arrive at the health center after having gone through many clinics or traditional centers when they should present themselves at the CTE and TB before the time to recover their health as soon as possible."

Charlotte Nziavake says that caregivers do not give up when it finds the escape of a suspect patient triage point. They put all possible means to find these suspicious cases.

"When the patient arrives, we have the opportunity to have his full address, his telephone contact and if he flees us; we send him the community relays of the place or we involve the cell and district leaders who help us find him."

Last week, several suspected patients fled the triage points of Mandrandele, Butsili, Rwangoma and Kasanga health centers, and some of them have not yet been found despite the joint efforts of the response teams and the local authorities.

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While Beni remains the epicenter of Ebola, patients who may be infected with the Ebola virus escape from integrated health facilities (triage centers) when they think they will be transferred to the Transit Center. More than 5 cases have been reported in health facilities in Beni. A situation deplored by caregivers.

"Today, the sick are fleeing us to the sorting point. If, for example, he has been suspected of being sick with the Ebola virus, he would not want to be told about a medical laboratory," commented the nurse who holds the Kasanga Health Center, Reverend Sister Charlotte Nziavake.

She laments the ignorance of some patients who consider Ebola Treatment Centers to be a place to sleep. She adds that the cure of a patient depends on the state in which he has presented to the hospital: the faster the patient with the Ebola virus is treated, the greater the chances of recovery.

"It is ignorance that dominates them because they start practicing self-medication at home, and arrive at the health center after having gone through many clinics or traditional centers when they should present themselves at the CTE and TB before the time to recover their health as soon as possible."

Charlotte Nziavake says that caregivers do not give up when it finds the escape of a suspect patient triage point. They put all possible means to find these suspicious cases.

"When the patient arrives, we have the opportunity to have his full address, his telephone contact and if he flees us; we send him the community relays of the place or we involve the cell and district leaders who help us find him."

Last week, several suspected patients fled the triage points of Mandrandele, Butsili, Rwangoma and Kasanga health centers, and some of them have not yet been found despite the joint efforts of the response teams and the local authorities.